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I love BMW's though, don't get me wrong, they are a blast to drive, but price wise and reliability they are SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only buy a Bimmer if its under warranty, and than dump it IMMEDIATELY, when its out of warranty.

As a warning to all those who are thinking of buying one.. Don't buy one unless you can afford the cost of maintenance.
I said it once, I will say it again, maintainence on that car is a bitch..
Ihate it how I never enjoy driving it because I'm afraid of check engine lights, airbag warning lights, keyless entry failure, ABS circuit failure, dead LED bulbs, seatbelt malfunctions, starter motor failure, water pump failure, fan blade dislocation , radiator leakage and failure, fan blade stripping, waterpump assembly failure, loose transmission mounts, alternator failure, battery replacement, ecu errors, control arm bushings loosening, random alarm system malfunctions and errors, tail light failure, fading/blinking HID's, wind noise, damaged clutch cables, fan blade hitting the shroud surrounding it, fan belt tensioner malfunction and sensor failure... etc etc.
all that has happened since August when I bought it. I've spent a ridiculous amount of money fixing it, $4600 dollars since August, and I've had a BMW shop in Calgary fix it. I know the guy and he only charges $60 dollar an hour labor on this stuff for me. If I took it to the stealership, I'm sure i'd be over 7 grand by now.
Simply put, E36 BMW's are POS.
I don't care if you're going to flame me, I went back to Japanese cars, where the cars display doesn't light up like a Christmas tree everytime you start the car. Oh, and they are 1 million times more reliable. I think my new 2000 Lexus GS400 is a five hundred better times car... its been 4 days with it, and GUESS WHAT... NO WARNING OR CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR FAILURES... NOTHING>!!!!!

To conclude, I will say one thing. This Bimmerforums board is the most respectful, non-arrogant, and most helpful forum I have ever seen. Most BMW drivers are douches who think their car owns the road, but I haven't seen or heard this attitude here for the most part. Thanks all you guys who helped me out with my many many problems with my E36. I hope you guys all have a good one.. driving your beautiful driving and handling car.. when its not in the shop.

PS: I do have a 2004 X5 and its been relatively problem free, more maintainence obviously than a Japanese, but about only three times the amount. Thing is, I only drive it in winter.... 8000 km a year max... good bye BMW!

i think the biggest thing about our cars is maintenance. as long as you take care of it, it will take care of u.

i havent had too many problems with my car that any other car wouldnt have. regular wear and tear items need to be replaced like bushings, fluids, obviously tires and other stuff.

but i know what you mean, my fuel pump decided to crap out 2 days ago, 260$ later im back on the road. my tensioner decided to make a lot of noises that was around 100$ to fix, my muffler brackets rusted out but that could happen to any car...

i think the biggest thing about our cars is maintenance. as long as you take care of it, it will take care of u.

i havent had too many problems with my car that any other car wouldnt have. regular wear and tear items need to be replaced like bushings, fluids, obviously tires and other stuff.

but i know what you mean, my fuel pump decided to crap out 2 days ago, 260$ later im back on the road. my tensioner decided to make a lot of noises that was around 100$ to fix, my muffler brackets rusted out but that could happen to any car...

All of the E36's i have owned have been more or less problem free. The only time my car started acting up was when i neglected the maintenance.

You must have just had a monday car. Also, i don't get why you say BMW's are the worst, yet you still own the X5!

I'm not an anti-BMW owner. This E36 turned me off so much from buying any BMW that I am going to Lexus.
I still have the X5, I bought it in Toronto, its a good truck. http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.p...hreadid=193797
But it has the maintainence costs three times that of any Japenese truck.. I just love X5's.

I'm not sure about your experience, but I purchased my E36 at 260km and it drove great for a year. A year later I replaced the clutch (first time ever on that car). Now at 318km there have still been no problems...

Hey man, just because you've got a bad E36 and it doesn't mean all the e36s are shit. We all know that the fact is E36s were built druing 92-98. Any 10years old car (if it was built in 98..) needs owner to take care of it. I've owned two e36s so far, and the money I've spent on both of them were no more than $3500, winter tires fees inclueded.
When BMW fist introduced E36, the feedback from the market was so well and as a matter of fact, even in today's automotive marketing, you can still see E36s very often.

Well, after all, I just wana say sorry about your bad experiences with your E36. But don't blame all the E36s because of that. It's just not FAIR. Especially for those who owns good conditioning E36s.

Hey man, just because you've got a bad E36 and it doesn't mean all the e36s are shit. We all know that the fact is E36s were built druing 92-98. Any 10years old car (if it was built in 98..) needs owner to take care of it. I've owned two e36s so far, and the money I've spent on both of them were no more than $3500, winter tires fees inclueded.
When BMW fist introduced E36, the feedback from the market was so well and as a matter of fact, even in today's automotive marketing, you can still see E36s very often.

Well, after all, I just wana say sorry about your bad experiences with your E36. But don't blame all the E36s because of that. It's just not FAIR. Especially for those who owns good conditioning E36s.

I know some E36's were built at 1pm on Wednesdays and are half decent. I know that. But all my friends who've had them were spending thousands on them to maintain.. they just sold them as soon as they could... than driving it to complete the sale, the waterpump would go...
read this thread... than Understand.http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=56053

Hmm, looks like you got a POS specimen, and that's all there is to it. And I guess applying that one experience to a multitude of other E36s/BMWs is a logical way of thinking

But all my friends who've had them were spending thousands on them to maintain.. they just sold them as soon as they could... than driving it to complete the sale, the waterpump would go...
read this thread... than Understand.http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=56053

nah, e36's are scrap. But most other cars are scrap too, and they look like shit.

So i'll keep my e36

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I run a canadian led kit & hid kit company, if you have any questions about led headlights or hid kits in canada or would like to check out our products please contact me here: http://absolutehid.ca2002 TiAg M3 6mt deoranged, dechromed, led tails, ZHP knob, UUC SS v3, GROM, OEM 220M 19's, Michelin Supersports
2006 YZF-R6, bunch of go-fast stuff

See the first thing here is the year comparison your 04 lexus is obviously not going to need as major of maintenance just due to the fact that its only 3 years old compare to our E36 that is a minimum of 9 years old...that right there is like comparing night to day. E36s with the proper maintenance thought can be super reliable...i now have 340k on my 328 and its still on its original clutch, i havent had to do anything to the car since i got it..previous owner had it for 9 years and did proper maintenance...I replaced the plugs the other day and thats it other than oil changes..I have a few electrical issues like everyone but for the price of the car and especially the priceless look of them I am happy with the money I have put out for the car